Attachment for can-making machines



(No Model.)

A.JOHNSON. ATTACHMENT FOR CAN MAKING MACHINES.

"N0. 554,027. I Patented Feb. 4, 1896.

I PHlll NITED' STATES PATENT FFTCE.

AXEL JOHNSON, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,027, dated February4, 1896. Application fil d May 16, 1895. Serial No. 549,531. (lTomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AXEL JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments forCan-Making Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of said invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it most nearly appertains to make,use, and practice the same.

This invention relates to a certain new and useful attachment to theclamping-jaws of a can-making machine, and it relates more es peciallyto the clamping-jaws of that style of can-making machines fully setforth and described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 526,925,for an improved can -making machine, granted to AXel Johnson andIIenry0. Black, October 2, 1894.

By reference to the can-making machine set forth in Letters Patent No.526,925 it will be observed that the can-body blank is received into theclamping-jaws while in a partially-rolled condition. The can-body blankmade use of in this machine is provided with side grooves or channelswhich receive the can ends, and one end of the said blank is groovedtransversely to receive the hook or flange formed at the opposite end ofthe canbody blank. In the practical working of machines of thischaracter I have discovered that during the course of a days run thecanbody blanks, as the clamping-jaws are closed therearound so as tofold the body-blanks around the can ends, have a tendency to slip withinthe jaws. Should the can-body blanks slip, the flanged or hooked end ofthe blank will not register with the transverse groove or channehConsequently when the clamping-jaws are closed and the mandrel forcedupward no side seam or joint will be formed, for the reason that the endflange or hook not having registered with the transverse groove orchannel, the ends of the can-body blank do not interlock. It will thusbe seen that should the body slip as the clamping-j aws are broughttogether, the can-body blank will not only be completely destroyed, butthe ends likewise damaged. It is to overcome this defect in machines ofthis character that the present invention is designed.

In order to fully understand my invention reference must be had to theaccompanying sheet of drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a broken detailView, in side elevation, of one of the disks composing thecarrier-wheel, showing the clamping-jaws in an open position and thefinger for engaging and holding the can-bodyin place as the jaws closesecured to one of the clampingjaws, the can-body blank and end inposition within the jaws. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing one of theclamping-jaws partly closed and the position of the finger when engaging the grooved end of the can-body blank and the position of theengaging-finger after the clamping-jaws have been fully closed; and Fig.3 is a broken detail plan view of the carrier-wheel, the clamping-j awsbeing shown in their open position.

In the drawings, the letters A A are used to indicate the diskscomposing the carrierwheel of the can-making machine, which disks arelocated a distance apart equal to the width of the clampingjaws. Betweenthese disks a series of clamping-jaws are located, each clamping-jawbeing composed of the sections B B, hinged together by the rod B whichpasses through the knuckle of each section of the jaw and the diskscomposing the carrier-wheel. The sections of the clamping-jaw swing uponthis rod 13 as the jaw is opened and closed. The jaw-sections areconnected by means of the straps O 0, one end of each strap beingfastened to its respective section of the clamping jaw, while the freeend is loosely secured upon the short shaft 0 which shaft projectsthrough the vertical slot 2) cut in the disk A and has secured to theend projecting beyond the outer face of the disks A aroll b. This rollduring the rotary travel of the carrier-wheel rides upon a cam (notshown) and raises and lowers the shaft 0 within the vertical slot 1). Asthe said shaft is raised or lowered, the sections of the clampingjawsare closed or opened by the inward or outward movement of theconnecting-straps O 0. These features form no part of my presentinvention and the movement of each will be found fully set forth anddescribed in the aforesaid Letters Patent No. 526,925, to whichreference is hereby made.

To the section B of the clamping-jaw I fulcrum the finger D, the upperend of which extends beyond the edge of the section B and is bentdownward so as to form a hook (I, which, when the forward or upper endof the finger is forced downward, will engage the transverse groove orchannel d formed in the end of the can-body D and hold the can-bodyblank in position and prevent the slipping thereof as the clampingjawsections are brought together in order to fold the canbod y blank aroundthe ends D This finger is normally held closed or pressed downward bythe resiliency of the spring E, which is located between the tailportion e of the finger and the outer face of the jaw-section B. Fromthe tail portion of the finger D inwardly projects the shoulder e, whichshoulder, as the sections of the clamping-jaw are thrown open their fulldistance, engages the face of the plate E bolted to the inner face ofthe disk A and forces the rear end or tail portion of the fulerumedfinger downward and the upper end outward or away from the section B ofthe clamping-jaw, Figs. 1 and 3.

Assuming the can-body blank and ends for the can-body to be in placewithin the clamp ing-jaw and the carrier-wheel to be rotating, theoperation of the linger or holding device for the can-body blank will beas follows: The moment the sections of the clampingjaw have closed ormoved together sufficiently i far to carry the shoulder e fromengagement with the plate E the resiliency of the spring E will forcethe lower end or tail portion of the fulcrumed finger outward or awayfrom the section B, causing the upper end to move inward until thehooked end d is placed within the transverse groove or channel (1 of thei The resiliency of the spring E holds the finger in this position andthe l can-body blank.

hooked end thereof fitting within the trans verse groove or channel ofthe can-body blank prevents the blank slipping within the clamping-jawas the sections are closed to fold the said blank around the ends.

Just prior to l the awsections fully closing, the carrierwheel will havetraveled such a distance as 1 to cause the lug f upwardly projectingfrom the lower end or tail of the finger to move g beneath the inclinedface f of the fixed cam F, secured to and projecting from the frame ofthe machine. (Not shown.) As the lug f is carried against the inclinedface of this cam i the lower end or tail portion of the fulcrumed leveris forced gradually downward and the 1 upper end gradually raised untilthe hooked I end thereof is removed from engagement with the can-bodyblank. By the time the upper or hooked end of the finger has beenremoved 1 from engagement with the can-body, the flanged end f of thecan-body blank will be i in position to move into engagement with thetransverse groove or channel (1. The side seam of the can-body is thenclosed and the can discharged from the machine, as fully set forth inthe aforesaid Letters Patent No. 526,925.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure protection in by Letters Patent, is

1. In a can-making machine, the combina- L tion with the clamping-jawscomposed of two l swinging sections which as brought together fold thebody-blank around the can ends, of a device connected to one of thesections of the clamping-jaws which as the sections of the jaws arebrought toward each other engages the can-body blank and holds the samesecurely in place within the sections of the clalnpin g-jaw.

:2. The combination with the carrier-wheel of a can-making machine, theclamping-jaws composed of swinging sections carried thereby, a fingerfulcrumed to one of the swinging sections of the clamping-jaws whichengages with and holds the can-body blank in position as the swingingsections of the clamping-jaws are closed and of devices for raising andlowering the fulcrumed finger as the swinging sections are opened andclosed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AXEL JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

N. -i. .tcKER, ltlrnnn Terms.

